X-Men
by devin.oquendo1223
Summary: These are the stories of the X-Men of when they started and in my second book is the Phoenix Saga
1. Chapter 1

A man is seen waiting inside his large exclusive private school. Suddenly, he "calls out" mentally to his students stating that he is Professor X and he is ordering them to appear in class at once. Then four costume-clad people appear and report for their lessons: Cyclops, the Angel, Iceman and the Beast. Angel and Cyclops help the professor get comfortable in his chair. Iceman plays a prank on Beast and freezes his arm. Angel has to pull the two off each other and Professor X begins their training lessons using his "training machine".

The Beast is first and is given timed lessons to help him with his agility skills. He first grabs a taut wire with his toes in a second and a half. He then spins wildly on the wire and jumps through the room in exactly three seconds. Then he practices his balancing skills while Cyclops slackens the wire tension causing him to jump off and land on his feet. The Angel takes his turn and tests out his wing reflexes. He flies around jet flames, through a giant closing clamp and then skips through a bladed spinner without a slip. He becomes overconfident and when a sound concussion blasts around him, he loses his edge and begins to fall but then recovers. Iceman asks the professor to allow him to take more risks even though he is the youngest student. The professor tells him not to rush things. Iceman then feels that if he is going to be treated like a kid, then he will start acting like one. He finds "snowman items" and puts them on to joke around. Beast throws a ball at him since he is off-guard and Iceman reacts quickly creating an ice "boomerang-sled" sending the ball right back at Beast. Cyclops shows off his leadership skills and uses his beams to stop the group from goofing off. Professor X stops the team and readies them for the new student who has just arrived by taxi.

A redheaded woman steps from the cab and the group begins bantering with each other about the fact that a girl is joining the school. The team goes and changes while the woman enters and is greeted by Professor X who apparently sent her [Jean Grey] a letter to be enrolled as a student of his school. She questions the type of school that she sees and Professor X states that it is a school for the "specially gifted", mutants, like herself and the others. The professor introduces the rest of the team, using their real names and codenames, to Jean Grey, whom he says is now known as Marvel Girl. She shows off her powers of telekinesis to the rest of the team by moving chairs and books. The Beast, tries to give her a kiss and she turns him upside-down and spins him wildly in the air then throws him onto the couch. Professor X then tells the group their mission is to protect the world from mutants who would harm humans or other mutants.

Meanwhile, just such a mutant named Magneto, is hiding near Cape Citadel watching a missile launch. He uses his powers of magnetism to control the missile and send it crashing off-course into the nearby waters. The Army and NASA standby and are astounded that the missile was destroyed. They conclude that someone tampered with the missile prior to launch. The next day, the Daily Globe newspaper states that this was the sixth missile to be destroyed and a "phantom saboteur" has struck again. Then the soldiers begin seeing weapons firing randomly and tanks being controlled remotely. A message suddenly is written out in metallic dust in the sky and reads, "Surrender the base or I'll take it by force. - Magneto." While the message is being read by the soldiers, Magneto launches a missile from a silo near the base. He causes it to fall into the sea near an unmanned target ship. Magneto then walks into the base and takes control of it. He uses his powers to entrap the soldiers in a "magnetic-fence" from which they cannot escape.

The X-Men are alerted to the crisis at the Cape. They each get ready into their uniforms and ready to go. They are driven to the airport in Professor X's Rolls Royce and take his private jet to the Cape. The X-Men arrive and request the army hold off firing on the base for fifteen minutes. Cyclops uses his power to make a hole in Magneto's magnetic force field and this alerts Magneto of their presence on the base. Magneto fires heat-seeking hunter missiles at the team. Angel causes the missiles to lock onto him and follow him around in the air, while Iceman freezes them with snowballs. One missile gets through and Beast catches it with his feet. Marvel Girl then telekinetically sends it off into the sea. Magneto is amazed at the team's abilities and sends a pile of metal hurtling at Angel. The team stops to help him, while Magneto rolls a flaming barrel of rocket fuel at them. Iceman quickly encases the team in an ice cocoon when suddenly the tank blows up.

Magneto thinks he has won and starts to walk off when suddenly Cyclops' beam shoots out from the ground. The team emerges and begins to strike at Magneto full force. Magneto takes flight via magnetic repulsion and blocks the team from following him with a magnetic force field. They eventually breach it and Magneto has already disappeared. The army is gracious that the base is safe once again and thanks the X-Men for their help. The team then flies back home in the jet, while Professor X telepathically congratulates the team for a job well done.


	2. Chapter 2

The X-Men are shown racing to meet Professor X after he has "called them" telepathically. The Beast jumps from the roofs and signs and onto a moving train to get to the mansion first. Angel is waylaid by a mob of women who want autographs and kisses from the X-Men star. Marvel Girl helps him out by telekinetically moving the women off of Warren and onto the marquee of a nearby movie theater. Angel reminds Jean that Professor X has warned her not to strain her powers. Angel then lifts Jean up and flies her off towards the mansion. Meanwhile, Iceman and Cyclops notice a wall collapsing onto a construction crew. Cyclops turns on his visor to full intensity and blasts the wall to fine powder. The crew thanks the duo and they quickly head off to the mansion. They catch a ride there in an ice cream truck at Iceman's request.

Inside the mansion, Professor X commands the X-Men to enter and assemble. Once they are all inside, he projects mental images onto the wall to show them their next mission. He reveals that the Vanisher is their intended target and "shows" them what was mentally witnessed by the professor earlier in the day. The Vanisher is seen talking to policemen and inquiring where the Metro National Bank and that he intends to rob it. The police say there is no law against intentions and direct him to the bank. After he robs the bank at gunpoint, the police tell him to freeze and he vanishes into thin air.

The teller is left yelling, ironically, for the police. The professor ends his mission briefing. Iceman uses the moment to play a joke and shoots snowballs at the team. Marvel Girl hurls the ice right back at him and he makes an ice shield to block them. Professor X tells the team to stop. He says that their battering tactics will be useless on the Vanisher and he directs them to train in the Danger Room.

Inside the Danger Room, Professor X sends missiles toward Angel who thinks the test is "a snap". Xavier then shoots another missile at him and says to pretend that the missile is the Vanisher and to catch it before it eludes them. Warren fails in this test and Professor X tests his heart and blood pressure to help him train better. The Beast steps up next and jumps over mechanical arms that appear out of the floor. He unknowingly jumped over them into a hole that opened in the floor. The Beast strains himself to stop before falling entirely down the hole. He jumps out and Marvel Girl gently brings him down with her powers.

Meanwhile, at the Pentagon, the Vanisher appears. The guards ask for his permits and he states that he needs no permits and that "Homo superior" is destined to replace the human race. The Vanisher disappears and shows up in a conference room suddenly. Colonel Hendershoot and a general are discussing defense plans. The Vanisher tells them that they need to hold onto the plans as he will soon be stealing them from them in a few days. He then proves his powers by vanishing suddenly. The Vanisher is later seen being catered to by a large number of criminals of the underground. They tell him that they are behind him and cheer for him. He announces that he has set his plan in motion to make the most daring move in the history of crime.

In the Danger Room, the X-Men continue their training. Marvel Girl holds a giant ball hovering in the air using her mind. She begins to tire and Cyclops comes to her aid. He blasts the ball with his beams before the ball crushes her. She thanks him. Iceman is jealous and decides to play a prank on Cyclops. He sends an ice-horse sliding at him since Cyclops was such a gallant prince.

Professor X sends out a mental communication to the FBI agent Duncan. Duncan puts on a head-gear to allow him to easily talk to Professor X. Duncan relays the Vanisher's plan to steal the defense documents. Professor X then sends off the team to stop the Vanisher. The team is then transported in a McDonnell XV-1 Convertiplane to look for the Vanisher.

At the Pentagon, a group of armed men guard the defense plans. Then the Vanisher appears and grabs the documents and vanishes. He is then down the hall and a group of men tackle him to the ground, but he vanishes right out of their hands. Next, the Vanisher exits the building and is met by the X-Men who just arrived. They tell him to stop and the Angel grabs him. The Vanisher drops the documents and the Beast recovers them.

The Vanisher then snatches them back from the Beast and then Cyclops blasts them out of his hands. Marvel Girl telekinetically grabs the documents and flies them around out of reach. The Vanisher sprays sleeping gas at Jean and she falls to the ground. The Vanisher grabs the documents. Iceman fires an ice-fist at him, but it is too late and he disappears. The team regroups and heads home.

The next day the newspaper reads that the Vanisher has the documents and the X-Men failed to capture him. The TV then announces that the Vanisher plans to give the documents to terrorists unless the government pays him 10 million dollars tax-free. The team bickers about their recent battle and Professor X advises them that he will accompany them to their next battle. He also advises the government of his plan on how to stop the Vanisher.

The time comes to battle the Vanisher and this time on the front lawn of the White House. The Vanisher tells the X-Men to leave him. Professor X confronts him and tells him that he is a mutant as well and is directing his powers at him. The Vanisher suddenly realizes that he cannot vanish and he even has forgotten why he is there and who he is. The criminal mob that was with the Vanisher attack. The X-Men easily stop their advance. Iceman covers them in a hole Cyclops creates, while Marvel Girl points their weapons at themselves. Angel then rounds up the last of them. The army then moves in and takes over. Professor X congratulates the X-Men on their job.


	3. Chapter 3

The X-Men are seen training their powers in the mansions gymnasium. Beast is loading an ejector machine which spits out large barrels filled with sawdust into the air. Cyclops is shooting them with his eye beams, Angel flies and catches them and Iceman freezes them. Professor X and Marvel Girl watch from the sidelines. Professor X states that Cyclops is doing very well and has increased his reaction time by three percent since last week. Professor X also announces that he is upset that Scott is the most powerful of the group, yet he is also the most unhappy in the group. Scott replies that he is stressed by his powers and says that he even wishes at times that he were not "Cyclops".

Marvel Girl admonishes him for saying anything like that. In the background, Iceman splits a barrel open that Beast is spinning in the air. Sawdust goes everywhere, causing him to yell at Iceman for such a stunt, but also revealing that he abhors violence. Angel then spins a barrel at Iceman and knocks him over. Iceman retaliates by shooting snowballs at Angel and pins him to the wall. Cyclops shoots the snowballs to thaw them out and Angel is let loose. Professor X steps in and commands the group to get back to training. Marvel Girl then takes her turn and tests her dexterity by telekinetically moving blocks quickly through metal slots. Suddenly, Professor X then tells them to stop and asks them to clear their minds of all thoughts as he has "sensed" another mutant and needs to hone in on his location.

Professor X scans the city streets with his mind's eye looking for the mutant. Minutes later, he says he has found the mutant and orders them into their street clothes to search for him. The men race to get ready as the first of them ready will escort Jean Grey to the scene. Scott is the slowest one, but he also thinks to himself that Jean is the girl he would most give his heart to, but is afraid of his powers enough to hold back. Jean still tells the team that she would rather be escorted by Scott anyhow. Professor X thinks to himself about Jean telling him not to worry for her, though he does and he also thinks about his love for her and how it is improper for him being her leader and confined to the wheelchair. The team starts to leave, but then Warren swoops in and picks up Jean whisking her away to find the mutant in his car, leaving the rest of the group literally "in the dust".

They then begin their search for the new mutant. Bobby finds who he thinks is the new mutant burning paper from the air with his hand. Upon closer inspection, he finds the person to be holding a magnifying glass and burning the paper with that. Next, Hank sees someone standing outside the fourth floor of a building in what looks like thin air. He climbs up the side of the building and finds that it is a man standing on a transparent platform to put up lettering on the side of the building. Scott is nearby at a carnival. Professor X tells him telepathically that he is close to the mutant. Scott thinks maybe it could be the man at a midway booth shooting targets without looking at them. He realizes that it is a hoax and that there is a man hiding in the booth shooting the targets. Scott blasts his gun and the man thinks that the carnival is haunted. Suddenly a barker states that the "Blob" is about to show and tells the people to step up and see all the feats he can perform. The professor says the Blob is the mutant they are looking for and that they finally found him.

The Blob begins his show and the crowd is told to send up a dozen strong men to try to move him as he stands arms outstretched on stage. A group of men, including Scott step up and cannot move him, even after ten minutes. Next, a man shoots the Blob multiple times in the chest and stomach. The smoke clears and nothing happened to the Blob. The crowd begins to think it is fake. Suddenly, the bullets appear from inside his massive skin as if it is finally regurgitating them back out. Later, Scott meets the Blob in his circus trailer. The Blob is inside smoking a cigar. Scott tells him that he is there to bring the Blob to the X-Men's headquarters and that the X-Men don't take "no" for an answer.

Then, Warren and Jean Grey enter and tell him that they are requesting Blob to join the team. The Blob agrees if he can sit next to Jean in the car as he advances towards her grabbing her arm. Warren tells him to back off and Scott says he needs to learn a lesson and shoots him down with his eye beams. Jean steps in and calms down everyone's tempers and the Blob says that he will meet with them at their mansion.

At the mansion, Professor X tests the Blob's strength and powers. He says that as long as the Blob is in one spot he is able to "command" his very skin. They test this by having him stand holding onto a chain while Iceman cranks it up to lift him. Instead, the chain pulls so hard that it breaks apart. All are impressed and the Blob arrogantly agrees that he is powerful above all of them. Iceman decides to show him a lesson and creates an ice block containing Blob's foot. The Blob wiggles his toe and breaks the ice. The X-Men offer him full acceptance into the team and the Blob refuses thinking he is more powerful than them all combined.

He begins to walk out and the team tries to stop him as he knows their true identities and Professor X will need to clear Blob's memory of them all. A battle breaks out and the Blob grabs the Angel and Cyclops is too afraid to shoot, thinking he might harm his teammate. The Blob goes after the professor and Marvel Girl moves him telekinetically to safety and shuts the exit door before the Blob can reach it. The Beast tries to stop him, but knocks himself out hitting the Blob while also crashing through the door and the Blob escapes and retreats into a network of tunnels through a manhole. Professor X warns that they must get the Blob to return so that he can erase the X-Men from his memory.

Meanwhile, the Blob returns to the circus. He believes that the only way for him to get rid of the X-Men is to attack them before the they attack him. He goes to the circus owner and demands that he gather the rest of the performers together. He states that he is "Homo superior" and that he is taking over the circus. The Blob rallies the circus performers into a mob and says that together they will defeat the X-Men. Angel flies by to see what the Blob is up to. The mob shoots at Angel as he flies over the crowd. He dodges the bullets and returns to the mansion to inform the professor. Professor X has been building an electronic mass influencer. This weapon will allow him to erase the entire mob's memory of the X-Men at one time. The Angel runs to everyone's room to get ready for a fight with the circus gang. In Bobby's room, a giraffe suddenly sticks his head in the window and Bobby shoos him out. He sees the circus gang already outside on the front lawn.

The mob attacks the mansion and bring a battering ram to knock through the front door. Marvel Girl opens it just before they reach it and they storm on through the mansion. They meet Cyclops down the hall and he blasts them all right back out the door. Outside, a group of tightrope performers attach a rope to the top of the mansion and start to walk across. The Beast meets them and throws them back down. Then spins down the pole they erected and the Blob sends out a gorilla to attack the Beast. Beast lifts him with his feet and spins him around as the Angel flies by. A wrangler tries to lasso the Angel, but misses. Then, the flying Zamboobas are shot out a cannon and grab him out of the air, bringing him back to Earth. An elephant attacks Cyclops who shoots it back into the ground and the energy he used drains him. Iceman and Jean are then surrounded. Professor X admits that the team has the powers, but lack the proper skills. He continues to work on the influencer as the battle goes on outside.

The Blob thinks he has won when Cyclops regains his powers and blasts through the rope they tied him with. He shoots the ground the Blob is standing on so that he can't get a good foothold. The Blob moves and some people throw a tight bag over Cyclops so he can't move his visor to shoot. The Beast finally defeats the gorilla he was fighting and goes for the Blob. He jumps over a few people and through the human pyramid. He hits the Blob but is taken down. The Blob ties up everyone in the group and leaves them outside while the circus moves to find Professor X inside.

Professor X sends out a thought to Marvel Girl to use her powers to remove the blindfold on her head. Then to use a tool around her to remove her bonds. It happens that the circus-folk left their knife thrower's caravan on the mansion lawn. She gets a knife and brings it over to herself to cut through the ropes and free herself and she quickly frees the others as well. Inside, the mob has found Professor X. He is ready to use his weapon on them when an ice wall blocks the mob from reaching him. The X-Men appear and attack the group. Marvel Girl rounds them up, while Cyclops, Angel, Beast, and Iceman fight them all. Cyclops blasts the floor under the Blob and he falls through. Professor X quickly uses his weapon to erase all their memories and then uses his powers to suggest them to forget about the X-Men and the mansion. The mob recovers and then questions where they are and why they are there. They all go back to the circus so they are not fired. Professor X congratulates the X-Men and says that he could not defeat the Blob without them. The Blob meanwhile, returns to circus life as if nothing happened. The professor worries though that someday the Blob's memory may return.


	4. Chapter 4

The X-Men are in the middle of their latest training session. Marvel Girl is given the task of opening a locked box using her telekinetic powers. Once it is opened she finds a birthday cake stashed inside. Professor Xavier explains that it has been one year since classes first started at the school, and he felt that the date should be celebrated.

Meanwhile four other mutants (Toad, Mastermind, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch) are seen having dinner. Mastermind tries to impress the Scarlet Witch, but she is not interested in him. Mastermind threatens her but Quicksilver intervenes to protect his sister. Magneto is elsewhere seen stealing a freighter and returning it to his secret headquarters somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. When Magneto returns Toad informs him that Quicksilver and Mastermind were fighting. Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch tell Magneto that they do not want to be members of his group anymore, but Magneto informs them that they are forever in his debt. The group has a flashback to a town in Europe where Magneto saves the Scarlet Witch from an angry mob that wants to kill her for burning down a barn with her mutant powers.

Magneto and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants use the stolen freighter to attack the small nation of San Marco in South America. Professor Xavier learns of the attack when he reads the newspaper and tries to contact Magneto using his telepathic powers. Professor Xavier and Magneto dispute their different views on mutant and human relations; Professor Xavier believes that they should coexist with one another while Magneto believes that homo-superior should rule the world. Mastermind creates an imaginary army to frighten San Marco's populace so that the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants can easily take over the country.

Professor Xavier and the X-Men travel to San Marco using the story of an American professor and his students on a goodwill mission. Once they are in the country the X-Men change into their costumes and attack the Brotherhood. Mastermind tries to scare the X-Men away by creating an illusion of a fire wall in the X-Men's path. Professor Xavier realizes that the fire is not real, so he enters it to show his students that there is nothing to be afraid of.

The X-Men then devise a plan to attack the Brotherhood, but do not realize that the door to the palace has been booby trapped with a bomb. Just before Beast opens the door, Professor Xavier senses the danger and hurls himself in front of the X-Men to protect them. The Brotherhood escape from the palace, but not until after Quicksilver disarms a second bomb intended to destroy the entire nation along with the X-Men. Professor Xavier regains consciousness only to learn that his telepathic powers were damaged during the explosion.


	5. Chapter 5

The X-Men's last battle against Magneto and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants injured the Professor, seemingly destroying his telepathic abilities. They return Professor Xavier to the mansion so that he can get some rest and hopefully regain his powers. The X-Men begin to ponder what they will do without Professor Xavier's help when they hear Marvel Girl's parents arrive for a visit. The X-Men quickly change into their civilian clothes so that they can greet their visitors. They excuse Professor Xavier's absence and give Jean Grey's parents a tour of the mansion. The party heads to the Danger Room where Hank McCoy explains that it is a gymnasium and they are receiving new equipment. While the group goes into the lunchroom, Scott Summers is accidentally trapped in the Danger Room and a program designed for the Beast starts automatically. He is able to escape the obstacles that the Danger Room presents by destroying it. Outside of the Danger Room, Jean's parents are unaware of anything out of the ordinary and they leave.

But nobody noticed that one of Magneto's henchmen, Mastermind, searching for the X-Men's headquarters! After a few minutes, he calls Magneto to pick him up, the X-Men are not nearby. On Asteroid M, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch ask him why it is so important to find the X-Men, so Magneto explains that as long as the X-Men are around they will intervene in his plans for mutants to rule the world. He then explains that he has devised a new plan in order to coax the X-Men out of their HQ.

At the Xavier Mansion, Scott Summers ponders a plan to stop the Brotherhood when Bobby Drake asks if he'd like to watch a track meet. He yelled at Bobby for not caring for the Professor. While Jean Grey covers Professor Xavier with a blanket, Hank McCoy and Warren Worthington III join Bobby by the television, along with Jean and the Professor. There is a contestant that manages to win the track meet using incredible jumps, so the crowd turns angry on him because they believe he is a cheater. The X-Men realize that the contestant is a mutant, so they head out to help him.

Once they rescue the mutant from the angry crowd, they take the bus to the mansion. As they arrive at the bus stop near the mansion, the Beast realizes something familiar about the mutant. The Beast pulls off a mask to reveal that it is actually the Toad, another one of Magneto's henchmen. The whole Brotherhood then arrives to attack the X-Men, and Magneto is able to capture the Angel. The Brotherhood flees with Angel, but they are forced to leave Toad who was captured by the X-Men. Back on Asteroid M, Magneto interrogates Angel as to the location of the other X-Men, but Angel refuses to tell him. Magneto then attempts to brainwash Angel.

The X-Men try to decide what to do with the Toad when he suddenly falls into a trance. The Toad's only thoughts are that he has to return to Magneto. He pulls out a communicator and summons a capsule for the sky. The X-Men decide to go with the Toad to wherever he is heading in order to find Angel. The X-Men appear on Asteroid M to the Brotherhood's surprise. Magneto heads over to activate a switch designed to kill the X-Men with the push of a button, but the console is sabotaged by the Scarlet Witch because she cannot tolerate murder. Magneto and the two siblings argue over their loyalties giving the X-Men enough time to free the Angel and attack.

The fighting causes some extensive damage to the space station which causes it to start to fall apart. Cyclops is trapped in a section of the asteroid that breaks off right away. Iceman has to create an ice tunnel so that Angel can go and rescue Cyclops. Before the asteroid is fully destroyed, the X-Men use the capsule to return to Earth. When the X-Men return to the mansion they try to tell Professor Xavier what had occurred. Professor Xavier informs them that he was able to follow everything, because he did not lose his telepathy. Since the X-Men performed this solo mission perfectly, they passed their final exams and the narrator informs that their training is over.


	6. Chapter 6

Professor Xavier reads a newspaper article about the Sub-Mariner. He begins to wonder whether or not the Sub-Mariner is a mutant. Meanwhile Magneto and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants are at their new headquarters on an island somewhere in the ocean pondering the same thing. Magneto decides to try and recruit the Sub-Mariner by projecting his astral form under the ocean. Professor Xavier does the same thing from the mansion, but decides to hide his astral form when he senses Magneto's astral form nearby.

Magneto finds Namor's underwater kingdom, but decides not to approach the Sub-Mariner following an outburst that he witnesses. Instead Magneto approaches one of the other Atlanteans and makes a deal with him. In exchange for delivering a message from him, Magneto claims that the Atlantean can become the new ruler of Atlantis if the Sub-Mariner joins the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.

Back at the mansion Professor Xavier informs his students that Magneto is attempting to recruit Namor, and that he knows where Magneto's new base is located. The X-Men board a ship and head out to stop Magneto. Namor is convinced into meeting with Magneto on his secret island. He is quickly impressed by how the island is run using Magneto's powers and a giant magnet at the center of the island.

The X-Men arrive and a battle begins amongst the two groups. Magneto destroys the X-Men's ship, but they are able to use ice-craft to make it to shore. Cyclops realizes that the giant magnet in the center of the island is what powers everything so he tries to destroy it, but Quicksilver attacks before he can do anything.

The X-Men subdue Quicksilver which causes the Scarlet Witch to fear for her brother's safety. Magneto becomes angered with the Scarlet Witch and begins to yell at her. At this point, both Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch again question Magneto's actions, (as in Chapter 5), but continue to follow him. Xavier mentions this may be because they are being controlled subconsciously.

The Sub-Mariner realizes what type of man he has allied himself with, so he turns against Magneto and destroys the magnet. The X-Men break into the lab, so Magneto, Toad and Mastermind run away. The Scarlet Witch demands that Quicksilver be returned to her, but the X-Men do not comply. A short battle breaks out that is stopped by Professor Xavier when he brings Quicksilver's body to the Scarlet Witch.

Namor decides that he has had enough of fighting for the day, so he starts to head back to his kingdom when he is attacked by Magneto and his giant magnet. The Sub-Mariner overcomes the beating he is taking and is able to destroy the magnet. The X-Men watch as the Sub-Mariner withdraws back to his kingdom, then observe Magneto and the rest of the Brotherhood retreat in his own jet plane.


	7. Chapter 7

Professor Xavier takes a photograph of his students during their graduation. Afterwards he informs them that they must continue their fight against evil mutants without him while he takes care of some unfinished business. He tells his students that he will be selecting a new leader amongst them soon.

Across town at another mansion, the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants regroups. Mastermind and the Scarlet Witch are the first to arrive. Mastermind offers the Scarlet Witch a life of luxury, but she refuses since she cannot stand him. Magneto and the rest of the group arrive.

Back at the school Professor Xavier asks Cyclops to accompany him to a previously off-limit section of the school. There he shows Cyclops his invention, Cerebro, which is used to detect mutant brainwave activity. Cyclops wonders why a telepath such as Professor Xavier would need such a device, so Professor Xavier informs him that it is intended to be used by the new leader of the X-Men, Cyclops. Cyclops questions his mentor's decision considering Angel's aggressiveness and Beast's intelligence, so Professor Xavier informs him that it is because of Cyclops' leadership abilities. The next morning the X-Men awaken to learn that Professor Xavier already departed. They congratulate Scott on becoming their new leader. The group decides to go to New York City that night to celebrate, but Scott refuses saying that he has to stay and monitor Cerebro.

At a carnival Magneto seeks out the Blob suspecting that he is a mutant due to his inability to be moved by an elephant or a cannonball. Magneto tries to perform a mind probe of the Blob, but is stopped by a mental block put on him by Professor Xavier.[1] Suddenly the Blob's manager appears and tries to fend off Magneto, not wanting him to talk to his client. Magneto orders the Brotherhood to attack the carnival workers. They all run off leaving Magneto alone with the Blob. Magneto orders the Blob to join the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.

At first the Blob refuses and attacks Magneto, but he overcomes his mind probe. Wanting revenge against the X-Men, the Blob agrees to join the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.

At the mansion Cerebro's alarm suddenly goes off alerting Cyclops of the Blob's recent activities. Cyclops tries to contact the rest of the X-Men, successfully reaching Warren. Warren gathers Hank and Bobby so that they can meet back up with Scott and Jean.

Magneto challenges the X-Men to a fight at an abandoned factory. A fight begins between the two groups. Cyclops' leadership skills quickly show as he leads the X-Men in successful counter attacks of everything that the evil mutants can throw at them including missiles. With the X-Men standing together, Magneto fires a second round of missiles at the group even though the Blob is standing next to them.

The X-Men hide behind the bulky villain and let him take the full force of the missiles. Magneto orders the rest of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants to retreat seeing that his plans have failed. The X-Men offer to help the Blob since his teammates abandoned him. The Blob refuses telling them that he's fed up with fighting other people's fights, and that he just wants to return to the carnival.


	8. Chapter 8

Cyclops watches over the X-Men's latest training session. He helps Iceman to develop his powers including making his body colder, which in turn makes him appear more icy and transparent rather than a snowman. Following the tough workouts, Cyclops gives the group the rest of the day off. Jean tries to convince Cyclops to spend the rest of the afternoon with them, but he refuses saying that he has too much work to do. From her thoughts, it becomes obvious that Jean has fallen in love with Scott.

Heading for the coffee shop where they met Zelda, Hank and Bobby come across a child that is in danger of falling off a roof. Without any time to change into costume, Hank climbs up the side of the building and rescues the child. When he reaches the ground again, he and Bobby are attacked by the onlooking mob, which is angered that there was a mutant hiding among them. Hank and Bobby are able to escape and head back to the mansion.

Infuriated, Hank tells Scott that he is quitting the X-Men. Scott does not know what to do, so he contacts Professor Xavier. Professor Xavier tells him that he cannot do anything about it, and continues on his quest to find Lucifer.

A week later, Hank has established himself as a pro wrestler. His latest opponent is a man that goes by the name of Unus, the Untouchable. Hank tries to attack Unus, but every time he attempts to strike the man, he is stopped by an invisible forcefield. Hank suddenly recognizes Mastermind in the audience then realizes that the two men somehow know each other.

After the fight Mastermind heads into Unus' locker room. Unus inquires whether he can join the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants yet. Mastermind informs him that due to the failures of Namor and the Blob recently, Unus must prove his loyalty before receiving membership. He informs Unus that he must find or even defeat one of the X-Men.

Unus has no idea how to find the X-Men so he decides to rob a bank. Coincidentally, the X-Men are nearby so Unus gets his chance to prove himself. The four X-Men are unable to figure out how to fight a man that they cannot touch. Unus grabs Angel who tries to fly off. Unus is able to hold onto him knowing that the X-Men are not killers. Angel eventually sets Unus down on a nearby rooftop.

The X-Men return to the mansion to try and figure out how to defeat Unus, and find Beast in the lab working on a strange device. Beast informs them that the device is designed to increase Unus' powers, so the X-Men attack him believing that he has joined the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Beast tries to explain his strategy but the others won't listen, so he grabs his device and jumps out the window. At the gym, Beast uses the device on Unus causing his powers to increase. The X-Men arrive at the gym and find that Unus' has already been given increased powers.

At first he is very pleased with his stronger powers, but quickly realizes that he can no longer control them. He quickly learns that he cannot touch anything, including food and the telephone to call Magneto and Mastermind. Beast makes a deal with Unus to reverse the device's effects as long as he does not join the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Unus agrees and returns to his wrestling career after being treated, and Beast returns to being a member of the X-Men.


	9. Chapter 9

In the Northern Atlantic a freighter is on a collision course with an iceberg. Suddenly two red beams of light shoot out from the front of the ship and destroy the iceberg. Scott Summers and the rest of the X-Men head back to their cabin before anyone can see where the strange light came from. The X-Men attend to Scott who became weary after having to use his powers so rigorously. Scott then explains to the other X-Men that Professor Xavier had told him to come to Europe.

Suddenly another transmission from Professor Xavier comes in telling his students that he has located his foe,Lucifer in a cave in the Balkans. He tells the X-Men that he wants them to come to the cave so that if he is unable to stop Lucifer, then they can finish him off instead. Professor Xavier begins to make his way into the cave, but is engulfed by a cyclone that places him right in front of Lucifer. Professor Xavier pulls a gun on Lucifer, but learns that if he pulled the trigger the world would be doomed.

The X-Men arrive in a Bavarian Village where they are met by the Avengers. The Avengers inform them that they are there investigating strange vibrations in the ground detected by Thor's hammer. Lucifer reveals to Professor Xavier that he has built a thermal detonator attached to his heartbeat so that if he were harmed or killed, it would blow up causing worldwide damage. Lucifer knows that the X-Men have arrived in Europe so he fires an ionic ray at them. Professor Xavier is able to warn his students of the incoming ray so that they are able to dodge it. The X-Men are told of Lucifer's bomb and that Lucifer cannot be harmed. The Avengers arrive at the cave, but refuse to listen to the X-Men's explanation of why Lucifer cannot be harmed. A battle between the two groups ensues.

Lucifer begins to laugh after seeing the two groups fighting each other. Professor Xavier uses the distraction to his advantage by knocking Lucifer unconscious without changing his heartbeat. Professor Xavier alerts Thor as to what has been happening. Thor informs the rest of the Avengers of Lucifer's defeat, so they depart.

Professor Xavier leads the X-Men to his location so that they can defuse the bomb. Professor Xavier uses his powers to detect the bomb's weak point and orders Cyclops to use his power full force but in a hairline beam on the weak spot. The bomb is diffused just before Lucifer wakes up. Lucifer tells them that it took him 10 years to make the bomb. Professor Xavier says that he lost the permanent use of his legs, but Lucifer only suffered a minor setback, then the X-Men leave Lucifer alone in his own cave.


	10. Chapter 10

Iceman, Beast and Marvel Girl are training in the Danger Room when Scott enters the room to commend them on the mastery of their abilities, when Scott notices that Warren is not present in the training session. Fearing something is wrong the X-Men search the mansion to find out where their teammate is and find Warren - out of uniform - glued to the television. He is watching a news report of an Antarctic expedition.

The expedition has found one of their numbers missing, however they find the mission scientist and a startling discovery: the missing man has been rescued by a strange muscle bounded human wearing only a loincloth and accompanied by a sabertooth tiger. Startled by the large and heavily armed convoy, the strange jungle man and his pet attack the other scientists before vanishing in the winter wastelands.

Theorizing that this strange man might be a fellow mutant, the X-Men tell the news to Professor X, who consents his students to go to Antarctica by themselves to investigate. While the others cheerful rush out of the Professor's study, excited to be heading out on another adventure, Scott stays behind wondering if the team is ready to go out alone. The Professor reassures and gives Cyclops his blessing that the team is ready to go out on the field without the Professors physical presence and supervision and commends Scott for his leadership skills.

Sometime later, the X-Men arrive in Antarctica and travel across the frozen wastes in a Arctic-cat until they arrive at the location of the jungle man's attack. Investigating further on foot, they uncover a crack in the ice, which Cyclops blasts open wider with his optic blast and the team journeys into what appears to be an ice cavern. Along the way they come across dinosaur bones that impossibly young, and even more surprising at the end of the tunnel they find a prehistoric jungle in the middle of the antarctic.

Flying up to scope the place out, Angel soon finds himself targeted by a swarm of pterodactyls. However a combination of Angel's fast flying and Cyclops' optic beams send the creatures fleeing. To the X-Men's surprise they find many prehistoric animals long thought extinct in this strange "Savage Land". Angel scouts ahead further while the rest of the team explores on the ground.

The X-Men are soon attacked by the Swamp Men, a tribe of hunters who have superior hunting skills that ride on giant bird beasts. They easily get the drop on the X-Men, knocking most of their numbers out with swamp gas and kidnap Marvel Girl. Witnessing the battle, the jungle man - named Ka-Zar - goes to the X-Men's rescue with the aid of his tiger Zabu.

When the X-Men revive, Beast thanks Ka-Zar and puts a hand on him, which offends the jungle man enough to prompt him to attack the X-Men. The heroes are then forced to subdue their savior, however their fight is quickly ended when Ka-Zar's mortal enemy the ape man Maa-Gor appears, and Ka-Zar easily defeats him in single combat and sends him fleeing. After the battle, Ka-Zar agrees to help the X-Men free Marvel Girl from the Swamp People.

While elsewhere, Angel continues his scouting of the Savage Land when he too is captured by the Swamp Men and brought back to their village. There he is reunited with Jean and the two are brought to the top of a hill where they are to be sacrificed to a deadly Tyrannosaurus Rex. The sight of the creature frightens Jean so badly that she cannot concentrate enough to use her telekinetic powers to free herself and Angel from their bindings.

The other X-Men, Ka-Zar and Zabu soon arrive outside the Swamp Men's village and mount an attack, smashing through their defenses with relative ease. As this is going on, Jean manages to compose herself to use her telekinetic powers to trip up the T-Rex and free herself and Angel. Able to fly away, Warren grabs Jean and the two join their comrades in battle. Smashing through the defenses, Ka-Zar helps the X-Men dodge the Swamp Men's death traps and calls a herd of Waly Mammoths to smash through the wooden fence that surrounds the village.

With the defenses smashed, the X-Men, Ka-Zar and Zabu make short work of the Swamp Men, sending them fleeing into the jungles in defeat. After the battle, they find Hank embarrassingly caught on a giant pole and save him. Later, Cyclops thanks Ka-Zar for his help and offers him to accompany them back to the surface world, however Ka-Zar rejects the offer telling the X-Men that the Savage Land is his home.

The X-Men part with Ka-Zar as friends and return to the surface, leaving Ka-Zar behind. After his new found friends have left, Ka-Zar then commands the mammoths to cover up the entrance to the Savage Land with boulders to prevent intruders from the outside world from coming to the Savage Land ever again.


	11. Chapter 11

Professor X calls the X-Men when his Radar-Image Beam picks up the energy signature of a very powerful being. However, before they can get a better analysis the being suddenly disappears in a flashing explosion. Suspecting this being as a super-powerful Mutant, the Professor and Scott concern themselves with the potential of such a powerful being. Iceman and Beast however don't take this finding very seriously and begin horsing around again, prompting Marvel Girl to use her powers to break up their rough housing, which leads to the Professor scolding Bobby for inciting the situation.

Elsewhere in New York, the object of the X-Men's concern is a strange man in a suit that has taken up residence in a rooming house. When the landlord comes by and demands full weeks rent in cash up front, the man pulls a large wad of money out of his coat and hands it to her. Deciding to explore the city, this man, this Stranger, walks in the very air over the city to examine the people. The citizens of New York are shocked to find that there is a man walking right up in the sky. Not wishing to attract anymore undue attention the Stranger flees the scene, but feels himself compelled to enter a particular building.

Walking through the wall, the Stranger finds Magneto and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants inside waiting for him. As the Stranger meets the Brotherhood, the X-Men search the city for this supposed new Mutant. As Angel scours the sky, the rest of the X-Men search the ground. As Scott searches the streets, he attracts unwanted attention of the police who find is skulking about suspicious. In a scuffle, Scott's ruby quartz glasses are knocked askew causing his optic beams to fire wildly, smashing a fire hydrant and one of the officers guns. Scott is then pulled out of the harry situation by Beast and Iceman who reunite him with Marvel Girl. The group then decides to continue looking for their query together.

Back in the building where the Stranger has met with the Brotherhood, the Stranger is offered membership with Magneto's team of evil Mutants. When the Stranger asks why he should join up with Magneto's group, the Master of Magnetism gives the Stranger a show of power, with Magneto binding him with metal and Mastermind using his illusions.

However, the Stranger sees through the illusion and breaks free of Magneto's binding. He then fires a bolt of energy at Mastermind which converts the illusion casting mutant into solid matter, causing him to break through the floors of the building, causing the owner to call for help.

This alarm attracts the attention of the X-Men who go to investigate to find the Stranger with their mortal foes. Magneto then orders Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch to attack the X-Men. Quicksilver strikes first, however he is quickly stopped when Iceman coats him with ice. Wanda then counter attacks with her hex bolts which trip up both Beast and ICeman. Angel attempts to get close to the Stranger but finds himself repelled by a magnetic barrier put up by Magneto.

Growing tired, the Stranger decides to leave, turning into vortex to escape, Magneto wishes to go with him and is allowed, so he (followed by the ever loyal Toad) enter the vortex as well and it phases through the wall, eluding the X-Men. Cyclops and the others go to lend Iceman and Beast a helping hand, putting a stop to the Scarlet Witch's attack.

Freeing Quicksilver from his frozen bond, the two Brotherhood members realize that they have been abandoned by Magneto. Cyclops offers them a chance to join the X-Men and help them stop Magneto, however the two Mutant siblings decline, having had enough of the constant conflict and leave, vowing to one day return.

Meanwhile, the Stranger has taken Magneto and Toad to a secluded spot, impressing Magneto with his abilities. The Stranger has a shock for Magneto though: He reveals that he is not a mutant and that he intends to subjugate them with his power. Suddenly, the Stranger grows in size and envelops both Magneto and Toad in an anti-magnetic membrane. While at the X-Mansion, Professor X examines the transformed body of Mastermind and is shocked to find that his molecules have been transformed into dense matter. Deciding that this Stranger is a potentially bigger menace than Magneto, the Professor gathers the X-Men and they fly out in their helicopter to find this being before he can act out again.

The find the forest where the Stranger had taken Toad and Magneto and find the two evil mutants still bound. The Stranger them appears from the X-Men and reveals his true form, telling them that he is a stranger from beyond the stars. Telling the X-Men that he has developed an interest in human mutation, he teleports away with Magneto and Toad so that he might examine this phenomenon on his own world. The Stranger leaves the X-Men with the police arriving, prompting the outlaw heroes to flee the scene as quickly as possible.

Later that day, Cyclops and Professor X are in the Professor's study where the Professor removes the place cards of Magneto, Toad and Mastermind of the list of mutants that might pose a threat. No sooner that he has done this the computer alarm goes off warning the Professor and Cyclops of a coming threat that is heading right toward them.

This story is continued next chapter...


	12. Chapter 12

**Continued from chapter...**

Cerebro is calling out an intruder alert prompting the X-Men to dawn their uniforms and come to the Professor's study to learn who this mysterious intruder is. Telling his charges that whoever is approaching the mansion is extremely powerful, he sends the group out to set up defenses including an ice wall, live-wire lined trench and fence posts rigged with grenades. When the X-Men return to the Professor, they are shocked to learn that their attacker is none other than Xavier's own brother.

The Professor tells his X-Men that his father was a nuclear research scientist who was accidentally killed during a nuclear bomb test in the New Mexico desert. During his father's funeral, Kurt Marko - his father's assistant - would come to comfort Xavier's mother. However, the young Charles, already developing mental abilities, could read Kurt's mind and learn of his less than noble intentions to take his mother and his father's wealth, two things that Marko had become envying of.

Shortly thereafter, Kurt would move into the Xavier mansion, and marry Charles's mother. Kurt became a ruthless and verbally abusive step-parent and would shun his new family for his work. During this time Kurt's true motives would come out. One day, Kurt would be thrown into a fury when his own son from a previous marriage, Cain, came to the Xavier Mansion after yet another expulsion from school. Cain turned out to be a cruel tormentor to young Charles.

The Professor's narrative is interrupted when Cain's advancement on the mansion progresses, easily smashing through the ice wall put up by Iceman, much to the X-Men's surprise. Charles continues the story of his youth: He would explain one day that he would overhear Kurt and Cain arguing over money. When Cain suggested that Kurt had orchestrated the death of Charles's father (an accusation that Kurt would flatly deny) Charles entered and confronted Kurt. During the moment of tension, Cain tried to throw chemicals at Charles; however Kurt attempted to stop them sending the volatile brew crashing to the floor, causing an explosion and fire. Kurt carried the two boys out of the blast. Having been mortally wounded in the blast, he begged Charles to believe that his father's death was only an accident before dying.

As Cain manages to break past the trench and live-wire trap on the mansion grounds, Charles plays for time to finish the final part of his story. He explains that by his adulthood he found that his mental powers (which by this point have rendered him bald) could allow him to have an advantage over other students, however he decides against it. Xavier then decided to challenge his body, as his mind was already vastly superior, and got into sports.

His trophy winnings earned the ire of Cain who pushed Charles too far one day and the two got into a fight which Charles won due to his superior fighting skill. Some days later, Cain attempted to make Charles cry out in fear by driving recklessly. He only succeeded in making the car drive out of control and smash through a detour sign and down a cliff. Cain bailed out, but Charles wasn't so lucky, however Charles would tell his X-Men that he was able to erect a mental shield around himself to protect him from the crash.

Outside the mansion, Cain finishes with the live wire and still manages to get past the grenades and gas traps that were set out for him. With their attacker mere feet away, Iceman puts an ice barrier over the window of Xavier's study to allow the Professor to tell the final part of his story: How the now adult Cain and Charles were enlisted in the military and would be sent to fight in the Korean War. The two were separated from their unit and were forced to seek refuge in a cave to escape enemy fire. Inside the cavern, Charles and Cain discovered the long lost temple of Cyttorak. The greedy Cain grabbed a crimson gem that was left before an altar. Upon contact, the gem absorbed itself into Cain's body, transforming him into a hulking form. The transformation caused a cave in that Charles had to flee from and Cain seemingly perished in.

Finishing his story, Charles realizes that this is far from the case and that Cain has finally dug himself out from the cave and sought out his brother for revenge. With the last of the outer defenses, the X-Men sealed the mansion's front door with a near impervious steel plate and waited for Cain's next move. Much to the X-Men's surprise, Cain is able to smash through the supposedly indestructible steel wall and easily knock the X-Men aside. Revealing himself for the first time in years, Charles looks at his brother - garbed in a special mystical armor - and calls him a Juggernaut.

**This story is continued next chapter...**


	13. Chapter 13

Continued from last issue...

The Juggernaut - Charles Xavier's mystically enhanced step-brother - has finally returned home to once more renew his rivalry with his brother. Charles attempts to protect himself with his vast mental powers, but finds to his shock and surprise that Cain's helmet protects him from mental attacks. The X-Men revive and with Marvel Girl's telekinetic powers tripping up the Juggernaut, Cyclops blasts the floor out from under their foe causing him to crash to the floor below, giving the X-Men time to retreat back and try to come up with a means of defeating their attacker.

Xavier takes the X-Men to the lab and the Professor builds a device that allows him to amplify his mental projections and sends out a thought wave into the city to seek allies in defeating the Juggernaut. Meanwhile, Cyclops and Angel go back to where they last saw the Juggernaut, attempting to keep him at bay using Cyke's optic blasts. However, the Juggernaut smashes his way around the two X-Men and gets the drop on them. Neither Angel's fists, nor Cyclops' optic blasts are capable of stopping their enemy.

Back in the lab, the Professor manages to contact both Rick Jone's Teen Brigade and Matt Murdock, (who is secretly the hero Daredevil) however, neither can come to the X-Men's aid. To stall for time, the Professor sends Beast and Iceman to go help Cyclops and Angel, who are having a hard time keeping the Juggernaut back.

As Iceman and Beast join the fray, Charles attempts to get the aid of the Fantastic Four's Johnny Storm (Aka the Human Torch) who is out testing a new modified car with some of his classmates. Hearing the Professor's mental call for help, Johnny assumes that it might be from one of the Fantastic Four's many villains and dismisses it.

Although he is trapped in an ice block, the Juggernaut manages to break free and battles the Beast in hand to hand combat. The Beast only succeeds in getting his foot injured, however this does not stop the brainy mutant, who lures the Juggernaut into the Danger Room and activates all of its traps in the hope that it can defeat this seemingly unstoppable foe. The Juggernaut survives the traps and then knocks the Beast out when he throws back a rolling cylinder.

By this time the Professor has finally managed to convince the Human Torch to come the X-Men's rescue, and then goes with Marvel Girl to help the others. Jean keeps the Juggernaut off balance by lifting him in the air with her telekinetic powers until the Torch arrives. Johnny uses his flame powers to melt away the rivets from his helmet, and commands the reviving Angel to remove it from the Juggernaut's head. Without his protective helmet, the Juggernaut is easily struck down by the Professor's mental powers.

With the battle over, the Professor thanks Johnny for his help. He wishes that the secret of the X-Men's headquarters will remain a mystery and erases the memory from Johnny's mind and sends him on his way. Later, the male members of the X-Men are sent to bed to recover from the injuries they sustained battling the Juggernaut with Jean acting as their nurse, much to the pleasure of the men. Proud of his X-Men, the Professor tells him he has an award for them when they are once more able to be up and about.


	14. Chapter 14

The X-Men are still recovering from injuries sustained in their battle against the Juggernaut; the Professor examines them and gives all the recovering X-Men a clean bill of health. However, this would only prove to be a minor reprieve for the X-Men, because at that very moment, scientist Bolivar Trask is holding a press conference to denounce the Mutant race as a menace to humanity that must be crushed. The press eats it up and Trask's paranoid rants end up landing on the front page of newspapers all over America.

Back at the X-Mansion, the X-Men change out of their uniforms and conceal their mutant natures; they prepare to depart on a much needed holiday. Jean leaves with Warren, leaving Scott to wonder how he can compete with his rich and handsome teammate for Jean's affections. When Hank and Bobby offer an invite for Scott to join them, Summers declines and departs on his lonesome, passing the newspaper to Professor Xavier before leaving.

Opening the paper, Xavier is horrified to find Trask's epitaph against mutants complete with a wild story about how mutants will take over and enslave humanity. Feeling that this will bring about anti-mutant hysteria, the Professor calls the National Television Network to arrange a televised debate between himself and Trask over the supposed Mutant threat.

That night on television, Professor Xavier and Bolivar Trask argue their points to a national television audience, sparking debate all over New York and around the United States. Bolivar offers to the audience a means of defense against the supposed mutant menace by demonstrating his new invention on Xavier (unaware that Xavier is really a mutant himself); his new robot enforcers the Sentinels.

Revealing that he has an army of these robots at his command, Trask begins to order the section leader Sentinel #1. However, things take an unexpected twist when the robot suddenly turns on Trask, stunning him with a ray beam and declaring the Sentinels as superior to humanity. Subduing Xavier and Trask, the Sentinels wait for further orders allowing Professor X to send out a mental summons to his X-Men asking for help.

The first to receive the call are Bobby and Hank who are at Coffee A-Go-Go listening to poetry. They then spring into action as Iceman and Beast. Warren Worthington also gets the call while sitting down for supper with his parents, and excuses himself from the table to change into the Angel and fly off to answer the Professor's summons. Back at the TV studio, the Professor tries to keep the crowd calm with his mental powers but finds the strain incredible. The Sentinels then decide to take their captives to their creators, prompting Trask to try and flee, however he misses a near fatal hit from one of the robots ray beams. Iceman and Beast arrive on the scene and begin trying to take the Sentinels out of commission however Iceman is hit by a ray blast.

Scott, having heard the Professor's summons, takes a cab to the TV studio. He accidentally drops his ruby quartz glasses while in the cab, causing him to fire an optic blast through the roof. Regaining his glasses, he's chased by an angry mob who has bought into Trask's anti-mutant hysteria. Rushing into the studio and losing the mob, Scott changes into his Cyclops uniform and comes to Beast's aid. Beast is knocked out in their fight against the last standing Sentinel.

However, before Cyclops can deal with it, the Sentinel suddenly deactivates on its own and falls over. Mentally commanding his charges so as not to give away his secret of being a mutant and leader of the X-Men, Xavier orders Cyclops to revive the others and help the people out of the studio so that they might examine the Sentinel and find out what deactivated it.

The other Sentinels meanwhile have escaped with Trask as their prisoner. Flying away from the studio, they come into contact with the Angel. Some of the Sentinels break off to attack him, using a ray that magnetizes his body, causing him to be drawn toward a speeding train, the Angel finds himself stuck on its roof. Coincidentally, Jean Grey happens to be riding this very train to answer the Professor's call for help and changes into Marvel Girl to give Angel a helping hand back on his feet.

They join the other X-Men just as the Professor is able to mentally probe the mind of the Sentinel who mumbled the word "Master Mold" before deactivating. With his probe, he learns of the Sentinels secret base and leads the X-Men to go out and rescue Trask from his wayward inventions.

Meanwhile, at the Sentinels base, Trask demands to know why his inventions have betrayed him, they explain to him that in order to protect humanity from Mutants, they must first conquer the human race. Taking Trask into the control room, they are alerted of the X-Men's approach through their sophisticated computer systems. Outside, the X-Men park the Professor's Royals Royce in the location the Sentinel told them that its comrades were hiding, however all they find is an empty meadow. Suddenly the ground rises up revealing a high tech pill box that fires laser beams at them, catching the X-Men all by surprise.

This story is continued in the next chapter...


	15. Chapter 15

Continued from last chapter...

Tracking the Sentinels back to their base to save Bolivar Trask, the X-Men are caught off guard by the bases defenses. The X-Men find the defenses too powerful and Professor X calls for a retreat. Planning another strategy, the Professor has Iceman create a glider out of ice that he and Beast will ride, followed by the Angel, in an attempt to sneak into the base. As Cyclops blasts the glider into the air with his optic blast, Hank and Bobby are soon captured and taken prisoner by coils that spring out of the defense system. Angel follows not far behind; however he's forced to retreat when a flame thrower almost sets him ablaze.

Beast and Iceman are then sealed within a cage and gassed so that the Sentinels can examine them further. Witnessing this, Bolivar Trask denounces the Sentinel's plans to take over humanity in order to protect them from the Mutant menace. The Sentinels then take Trask to their creator and the machine he invented to create his Sentinel: The massive Master Mold. Master Mold demands that Trask pledge allegiance to him, or he will use the weapons cache that Trask had armed them with to destroy half of the United States. When Trask tells the giant robot that the X-Men will stop him, it almost gloats telling Trask that it will examine the two captured Mutants and defeat the others.

Outside of the Sentinel Base, the Professor attempts a different strategy on the Sentinels, knowing that his mental powers have some effect on the robots, he exerts all his will causing the Sentinels controlling the weapons within the pill box to suddenly shut down leaving the remaining Sentinels incapable of action until they get further orders from Master Mold. As Cyclops, Angel and Marvel Girl break through the defenses to gain entry into the Sentinel Base, the Beast is brought before Master Mold. Master Mold then forces Trask to use a psycho-probe device so that the robot might learn the origins of this Mutant in the hopes of learning a way to defeat Mutants.

Cyclops and the others meanwhile come across a bunch of deactivated Sentinels when they are spotted by one that is still active. With no orders on how to handle the intruders, the Sentinel tells the X-Men to follow it while it goes to get more instructions; the X-Men follow in hopes that it will bring them to its leader. As Beast recounts how his mutant powers gave him an advantage as a child over school yard bullies, the other X-Men find Iceman. Before they can free Bobby however, they are attacked by a team of Sentinels, which they easily defeat and then free their comrade. With Iceman revived, the X-Men continue their search for Hank and Trask.

Beast continues his tale explaining that in high school his Mutant powers made him a football star, attracting the attention of Professor X who would come to Hank's parents and offer to take Hank into his school to train him in the use of his powers. Hank by this point has not implicated Xavier's affiliation with the X-Men; however Master Mold decides that learning the identity of the X-Men's leader would provide him the key to destroying Mutants and he probes deeper. Monitoring the situation from safety with his mental powers, Professor X sends out his astral form to try and stop Hank from outing him as the X-Men's leader. With the probe stopped, Xavier then attempts to exert his mental will on Master Mold. However, the massive Sentinel detects Xavier's presence and repels his astral form with micro-electric blasts, sending a weakened Xavier to return to his body.

The X-Men meanwhile continue to fight their way through the armies of Sentinels created by Master Mold. Just when they think they have defeated all threats, the group is suddenly pinned to the ground by a strong magnetic force. With the X-Men defeated, Master Mold demands that Bolivar create an army of a thousand Sentinels. Trask refuses, and Master Mold orders his minions to grab hold of Trask and prepare to force him to do Master Mold's bidding. Trask comes to the realization that he was a fool in creating the Sentinels because he traded one perceived menace for an all too real one.

This story is continued next chapter...


End file.
